The Philadelphia 76ers decided to ship off one of their impressive rookies in order to land a star-level player before the NBA trade deadline.
It was sad to see rookie Landry Shamet be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Tobias Harris among other players, but it was a necessary move to put the Philadelphia 76ers into position to win a NBA title. Outside of the trade that involved Shamet, there’s other important news regarding the Sixers rookies.
16th pick, 2018
In last week’s rookie report, there was a rumor about the possibility that Zhaire Smith would be playing for the Sixers G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, on Feb. 7th. Sadly that rumor proved to be false, however there were videos surfacing of the rookie taking part in some shooting activity.
It may not be the playing time, but it’s still a positive that he’s being involved in team activities. General manager Elton Brand expects the rookie to make his debut this season, according to Serena Winters of NBCSPhilly.
36th pick, 2017
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There was no news that directly involved Jonah Bolden this past week, however this trade deadline didn’t do him any favors. The trade that sent Shamet to the Clippers also brought in power forward Mike Scott and center Boban Marjanovic. Both veterans will most likely take a big chunk out of his playing time. Bolden will most likely see floor action only when Marjanovic is at a disadvantage on defense.
Bolden’s performance for the week was less than impressive. In the two games he played in, he had a total of 20 minutes, 1-4 from the field with three points, three rebounds, one block and five fouls. With the new additions of Scott and Marjanovic, its quite possible for Bolden to start seeing playing time with the Blue Coats again.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/8/2019.
54th pick, 2018
Shake Milton had a decent game against the Sacramento Kings, where he had 20 minutes of floor time. He finished with six points, four rebounds and two assists, on 3-7 shooting on shot attempts. He also played for the Blue Coats this week as well where he had 10 points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and four turnovers against the Austin Spurs.
Things took a turn for the worst for Milton as he broke one of his fingers in that game and there appears to be no defined timeline for his return, but things aren’t looking positive according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice. While a speedy recover would be preferred, it’s doubtful that he would get much playing time moving forward now that the team has acquired James Ennis and Jonathon Simmons in separate trades.
Season stats: 76ers
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/8/2019.
Undrafted, 2018
Haywood Highsmith‘s playing time with the Sixers will also be severally limited due to the acquisitions of Simmons and Ennis. He didn’t see any NBA action this past week and only played in one game for Delaware where he had 11 points, five rebounds, one assist, two fouls, one steal, three turnovers and three blocks against the Northern Arizona Suns. Highsmith does have the potential to be a 3-and-D player, but it appears he still needs time to develop with the Blue Coats.
Trades and injury news dominate this Philadelphia 76ers rookie report. Losing Shamet hurts the Sixers long term outlook and the trades seem to have a negative impact on almost all the rookies playing time moving forward. The only positive that can be taken is that Smith is making progress and is still on track to return this season.